Peter Kay's Car Share

For years I, like millions of others have adored Peter Kay and his vast body of work. I have always thought of him as a multi-talented legend of our time. His superb ability and prowess as a stand up comedian is without question and without equal. What's more he has brought to our attention his wonderful talents, not only as a writer and a director, but as an actor too. Not a comic actor, but a great actor full stop. He has appeared as part of iconic TV and film institutions like Wallace & Gromit, Coronation Street and Doctor Who, but it is when he takes the helm of his own projects that he truly captures the hearts, and often the laughs of the nation. That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, Max & Paddy...all pieces of sheer genius and now Peter Kay is back (for the first time on the BBC) doing one of the things he does best - a raw, simple original sitcom that makes you surely and truly laugh out loud. 

The concept of Peter Kay's Car Share is simple; dangerously so in fact; the idea of two people just sitting in a car, driving and talking is not the first thing you think of when you think of comedy, and it is an idea that many an actor, writer and director would shun instantly. Yet for this project, Peter Kay took on all of these roles, and was thus truly able to guide and shape this grounded concept into the makings of comedic genius.

Peter as John is brilliant. As you might expect, he is the vehicle for most of the comedy in this show, and as the starter concept was simple, so too are the roots of his comedy, but more on that later. Peter Kay is aided and abetted in his Fiat 500L by former collaborator Sian Gibson as Kayleigh. Again quite a simple and unassuming character, but in the end she develops into the perfect Yin to Kay's Yang. The chemistry between the pair is tangible, but not at all forced (despite the claustrophobic setting). Instead the car interior provides the perfect charged setting for comic sparks, a true camaraderie and two characters that you instantly believe in and want to watch. Of course, another simple driving force of the show, and of the two characters is the subliminal question of - is there romance between the pair? Again this is a simple, hanging element in the air throughout, yet it is downplayed and used to full yet mellow advantage in enhancing the dialogue and charm between the two. OK I admit (if I am being harsh) the character of Kayleigh is a tad grating and annoying when her dismal, repetitive outlook on life is stretched to breaking point, and the longing stares at Ted 2 the trolley man every episode do get a bit boring, but again very grounded in realism and broadly speaking trivial compared to what is a beautifully conceived and presented comic pairing.

Very quickly you know what you are getting each episode, but at no point does that become a bad thing. What drives the ample amount of laugh out loud moments are these two people, in the car, going to and from work, and that's pretty much it. The writing is so good, and the performances so wonderful that is really all you need. For added extras you get quite cheesey but still funny Forever FM radio adverts booming out, plus a great soundtrack (and a few musical fantasy sequences) but the twin core remains the same in the form of the two at the centre of it all. In capturing the realistic, melancholy and wonderfully ordinary nature of these two characters, when it is time to laugh it is time to laugh properly and heartily! Even when Reece Shearsmith turns up as fishmonger Ray for an episode, this is a mere interesting aside as the real comedy comes from Kay and Gibson's reaction to him.

This one broke all the records when it was premiered on BBC's iPlayer, and yet again almost everyone is singing the praises of Peter Kay, and I am hardly surprised. I suppose it is refreshing, as well as being a relief to some that after all he is done, Peter Kay is still capable of making us laugh with the most brilliant of moments, even with the most simple of starts. Thank you Peter Kay - you have done it again, and I for one hope to see you back car sharing soon!